Prologue
“Some truths belong to the mountain—until the mountain decides to give them back.”
From a high cliff above the valley, a young hunter named Kami’ash knelt low, his bow resting against his knee. He had been tracking deer, but it was not the deer that held his attention. In the clearing below—hidden from every trail—two rookie rangers unpacked lunch by a cool stream. The man arranged sticks for the fire. The woman laughed as she crouched to pick up kindling.
Then it happened.
A ripple of violet shimmer flickered at her feet, like heat dancing on pavement after rain. She leaned in, curious, and stepped forward—into nothing. Her laughter ended, leaving the forest hollow.
Kami’ash’s heart pounded. He knew the legends—stones laid by Sky People, invisible passages, stories not meant for strangers—but he had always dismissed them. Not now. Now, he knew.
Look Inside: MOUNT SHASTA
Below, the ranger called her name, frantic. He searched the underbrush, the bank, the ridges. His voice shattered against the stillness. Kami’ash pressed back into the shadows, gripping his bow like a prayer of protection. If word of this spread, the mountain would be ravaged. The secret belonged to the mountain—and now to him.
Decades passed. Seasons turned. And when his breath grew shallow and his hair silvered, he summoned Elias to his side. From his deathbed, he finally whispered the truth: he had watched her vanish, protected the stone, and kept silent—hoping she would find her way home.
But Elias never stopped searching.
And still, he searched.
